She gasped, trying and failing at stabilizing her errant breathing. What a day… what a damned by the gods day…
She held onto her Shugoki companion, Okuma, who wordlessly supported her and allowed her to stay upright, while she stared daggers at the young man in front of her.
When that woman had dumped her in the swamp together with three of her Daimyo former allies, she said nothing as a way to justify herself. Only "happy hunting" and "you will have a reward should you survive". She did indeed survive, in the blood of those that sought to take power for themselves. Ranja, Kizan, Dokuja… why?
Why couldn't they just… all band together to fight the invaders?! First the Vikings broke through the bridge and started pillaging the capital; then, when they barely managed to drive them back thanks to the intervention of the Emperor's Champion, the Knights also decided to drop by and just casually kill their lord, like it was nothing. And at the forefront of it all, was her… Apollyon.
What the hell did she want? Ayu the Kensei had absolutely no idea. What was the point of all this? Why give the palace to Seijuro? Why make them fight among each other like this instead of just getting rid of them all?! And why, in the name of Amaterasu, was this guy now casually talking to her?!
"So, you survived. Just like she predicted. I honestly shouldn't be surprised anymore…"
Her stare, somehow, got even sharper.
"Who are you?! Are you one of them?!"
The green eyed male in front of her hummed, noncommittally.
"Technically, yes. But I am not a soldier, nor am I here to fight. My name is Corvo, healer of the Blackstone Legion. I have been sent here as the reward for the Daimyo that triumphed in the trial… meaning you".
The reward…? This person was what she got for slaughtering her kin?! Her anger was reaching a boiling point. Whatever she was angry at Apollyon for organizing the "trial" as it had been called, at the Vikings for weakening them to this extent, at Corvo for merely existing or herself for not seeing it coming, she did not know. She just knew that she was furious.
"And what am I supposed to do with you, Blackstone?! Kill you?!"
Corvo shrugged.
"If you wish, you could. But I doubt that your code of honor has a 'harm medics' clause. Matter of fact, I know that it does not. I studied it, after all".
He got her there. Healer and medics were to not be harmed, no matter what. She gritted her teeth, in frustration.
"Then what?! What do you want?!"
"I am a medic. You are injured…"
He pointed at her mangled leg, which couldn't hold her weight anymore.
"I think it's fairly obvious".
This smug bastard… did he really thought that she was that stupid?
She was just about to tell him to go away, when a new voice interrupted her.
"Ayu, wait! I can guarantee for him. He's on our side".
The Kensei turned, seeing the slightly battered, but still healthy form of her friend Amane, the Orochi champion.
"How would you know?"
The hostility still wasn't gone from her voice, but it was tempered. For the moment.
"He saved my life with no input from Apollyon. I am still alive thanks to him…"
Amane bit back a small gasp of pain. Corvo was on her in an instant.
"You idiot, I told you to lie down and rest, didn't I?"
"You did. I merely chose to ignore you".
The healer sighed while the Orochi turned back to Ayu.
"But, yeah, bottom line is, he's with us. I know that you don't trust him… but I ask you to trust me on this".
The Kensei exhaled through the nose, her gaze sweeping back and forth, before sighing.
"Very well then. If the Emperor's Champion vouches for you, then I shall trust her judgement. But…!"
She needed to lay down some ground rules.
"You will obey my every command, understood?"
Corvo nodded.
"That was my intention from the start".
"You also will never be alone with a patient. Either myself, Amane, Okuma or Momiji will always be there to supervise, at least until you prove yourself trustworthy".
"I have no problems with that".
Ayu hummed, somewhat surprised at how accommodating the young man was being.
"Finally, no communication outside of our camp. You will not be referring to Apollyon about anything that you might see or hear. Agreed?"
The healer performed a picture perfect standing bow.
"I accept the terms. Thank you the opportunity, Daimyo-sama"
Even the honorific? Who the hell was this guy…
Ayu glanced at Amane, who shrugged.
"Just accept it"
Okuma finally decided to speak.
"So, uhmm… where to now?"
A resounding horn blared thorough the battlefield.
Ah, right, the Vikings.
"Amane, take Okuma with you and take care of our… neighbors. Momiji will stay here with me while Corvo takes care of my leg. We'll meet you in a bit, okay?"
A chorus of nods was her answer. The healer turned to the Orochi, for a moment.
"Please do try not to reopen your wounds. I have plenty of supplies, but I'd rather not splurge too much…"
The Emperor's Champion closed her eyes, likely smiling behind her mask.
"I would promise… but I have been taught to not make promises that I cannot keep!"
Amane and Okuma left, followed by the healer's thundering sigh, while she took a seat on a nearby rock, with Momiji overseeing everything.
Corvo approached with his supplies, allowing the Nobushi to help him undress her and expose her wound. Ayu winced at the sight of her leg, while her current medic frowned.
"It definitely looks bad… but I've seen people survive worse. Try to be as still as you can, Daimyo-sama…"
Now that the adrenaline had faded from her system, the pain of her injury hit her with the full force of an elephant. The blonde young man wasn't helping matters with his very generous use of alcohol to clean everything up, but the longer it went, the less it started to hurt.
"Say, Knight…"
"Yes? How may I help?"
"Amane said that you saved her life, which is the reason why she trusts you. How did it happen?"
Corvo took a second to answer, not even slowing down while he kept working.
"It was after Apollyon's invasion of the city. Your friend was laying down close to the main gate, bruised and battered. If I had to take a guess, she likely got trampled by the horses that broke through. She recovered way quicker than I thought…"
Ayu could relate to his confusion. The Orochi's resiliency was one of her greatest attributes, after all. Silence stretched on for a bit more, occasionally interrupted by Momiji's curiosity getting the best of her. Innocent questions, like "where do you come from", "do you have family", "where did you learn to heal so well" and so on.
Until she herself asked one last question.
"Why are you here, Blackstone? The real reason, not that 'reward' story you fabricated".
Corvo finished wrapping her leg in bandages, before working to make her a momentary crutch to help her walk.
"It was no fabrication. I did get sent here by my queen to be of assistance to the survivor of the trial. As for the reason…"
His deep green eyes bore into her own.
"She wants to make sure that either you or the other Daimyo live enough for the end. For the final, total conflict that she had been preparing all this time".
Ayu's breath caught in her throat, followed by Momiji's own gasp. What kind of monster…
The healer handed the crudely made crutch to her.
"It's horrible, I know… but you have no other choice. I wish that there was… but I promise you. It's not over just yet".
The Kensei stood up, helped by the Nobushi and the new instrument she wielded.
"What do you mean…?"
Corvo smiled enigmatically.
"Call it a hunch. But I believe that we're not alone".
We. Not you. We. He considered himself one of them… firmly against Apollyon and her madness.
It would take some time before she could fully trust him… but, for once, she had a good feeling about him.
Hello?! Is this thing on?! It is?! Noice.
Welcome back, dudes and gentleladies, to another episode of AHO, the show where being trampled on by horses is but a minor inconvenience.
The Samurai Campaign is officially underway, and with it, we start heading towards the end of the story mode of For Honor. Does that mean that this story is also ending? Hell naw, we still got all the other DLC heroes to go through, together with some… extra chapters along the way. We're still far from done.
Next time on A Healer's Oath: Momiji, The Nobushi!
That's all folks! Ta-ta for now!